Hello! I just had an upper molar extracted this afternoon. The dentist said the tooth was very close to the sinus and I should avoid blowing my nose vigorously. So I asked him about the cpap therapy and he asked if I could turn down the pressure, as that would probably be better than not using it. I can turn the pressure down. I am wondering if a very low pressure will really be any better than no CPAP at all.

jilliansue wrote:Hello! I just had an upper molar extracted this afternoon. The dentist said the tooth was very close to the sinus and I should avoid blowing my nose vigorously. So I asked him about the cpap therapy and he asked if I could turn down the pressure, as that would probably be better than not using it. I can turn the pressure down. I am wondering if a very low pressure will really be any better than no CPAP at all.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thank you,Jill

If it was me, I'd try sleeping at my normal pressure. If that caused discomfort, I'd try lowering the pressure by 1 or 2 cms and see if that was ok. If not, then lower it by another 1 or 2 cms, etc. Anything less than your optimal pressure will mean less effective therapy, but it's a temporary situation. Just do the best you can.

jilliansue wrote:Thank you!!! His concern was that the membrane between the sinuses and where the tooth was taken out was thin and I think he was concerned about leakage of air into the sinus...

If you find you just can't use the machine for a night or two, do what you can to mitigate the apnea with your position. Sleep on your tummy if you can, or your sides. Prop yourself more upright (lots of pillows) or sleep in a recliner, if possible. I hope it goes well.

I would not ignore the dentists advice. I personally was hit in the face and sometimes when I blow my nose, I have air come out the corner of my eye. The deeper problem is that Sinuses have bacteria and collect debris, including pollen. My eyes are constantly red, which is not good for them, and I look like something out of nightmare. Some bacteria are nearly impossible to kill in the sinuses from any antibiotics.

Having a break in the sinus membrane could be a big problem for the rest of your life. If you use a nasal mask, I might not use the sleep apnea machine at all, because it would put a lot of pressure from the inside of your sinus outward to were the tooth is.

We are all kind of guessing here. My point is that the consequences from breaking the membrane may be for the rest of your life, or at least a surgery to fix it. I can not afford to get mine fixed.

If you tape your mouth shut, it would seem that the pressure in your mouth should be the same as the pressure in your nose. Wouldn't the sinuses be at the same pressure as your nose, so if the pressure in your nose is the same as the pressure in your mouth, there's no pressure difference? Wouldn't this reduce any risk of blowing a hole from the tooth socket to your sinus?

A CPAP pressure of 20 cmH2O is a rather high CPAP pressure, but it's only 0.3 PSI. It would seem that just normal breathing, drinking through a straw, talking, coughing, sneezing, whatever might well be higher.

If you were drinking water from an 8 inch long straw, that will give you 20 cmH20 of vacuum. It really doesn't seem like that much pressure. Or if you had a mouthfull of water, put an 8 inch straw in your mouth and blew the water straight up into the air, just dribbling out the end, that's 20 cmH2O as well.

Or for that matter, put on your CPAP machine. Purse your lips and let a small stream of air blow out your lips. That's how much pressure. Or simply keep your lips together and feel how much pressure there is on the inside of your mouth. Move your lips like you're making a "Pa" sound while using your CPAP and feel how much pressure there is. Then make the "Pa" sound while not wearing the CPAP and talking normally. I suspect you'll be making as much pressure while talking as while CPAPing. Close your mouth and breathe sharply out your nose. Feel the pressure of that vs. CPAP pressure.

Like I say, consult with your dentist, but I don't think CPAP pressure is going to be high enough to make more sinus damage possibility than normal daily activities such as eating, drinking, talking, breathing, etc.

Women are Angels. And when someone breaks our wings, we simply continue to fly.....on a broomstick. We are flexible like that. My computer says I need to upgrade my brain to be compatible with its new software.

Thank you for the resonses! I did sleep without my BiPap machine last night, and will probably do so for another couple of nights. I did not realize that the PAP might make it more prone to a dry socket!

I am glad I have all of you to help me think about things that had not occured to me!

He told me not to blow my nose the first day, and not to blow it vigorously for a couple days after that. I think I will not blow my nose, not use any nose spray, and not use my CPAP for 2 more nights.